%0 Journal Article
%T A database of schemes that prioritize sites and species based on their conservation value: focusing business on biodiversity
%A Arthur G Blundell
%A Tormod V Burkey
%J BMC Ecology
%D 2007
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6785-7-10
%X Overall, schemes tend to be designed to guide conservation organizations in their own priority setting or they categorize species based on conservation status. Generally, the schemes do not provide all the necessary information for offsets because they operate at a broad spatial scale or with low spatial resolution, which make it difficult to assess sites at the project level. Furthermore, most schemes do not explicitly incorporate threat, which we consider key to assessing whether offsets protect habitats or species that would otherwise be lost (i.e., provide additionality). The schemes are useful, however, for identifying the major conservation issues in different ecosystems around the globe.Companies can proceed by first avoiding, reducing, and mitigating impacts, and then using existing schemes to identify i) no-go areas and ii) appropriate offsets to compensate for any unavoidable loss in biodiversity. If existing schemes are inadequate, then companies should use integrated conservation planning techniques to define offset options within the region of their operations.As a fundamental component of risk management, leading companies now go beyond regulatory requirements to mitigate a broad range of environmental and social impacts. This helps maintain their social license to operate. However, corporate responsibility is poorly developed in the area of biodiversity, especially in developing countries where biodiversity is greatest [1]. This lack of action contrasts strongly with the plight of the world's biodiversity, which most recognize as highly threatened [2].According to the voluntary guidelines of the Convention on Biodiversity, companies should first avoid, reduce, and then mitigate their impacts on biodiversity. One tool being developed to deal with the residual impacts is the biodiversity offset, wherein a company finances conservation project(s) that compensate for the unavoidable impacts of its operations, so there is no overall negative effect on biod
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6785/7/10